Data processing systems used in office environments commonly connect multiple user interfaces together in a network. Users at the user interfaces are able to communicate with each other by way of distributions sent over the network. Distributions include electronic mail, messages, documents, notes, etc.
The distributions can be assigned attributes in order to facilitate their dissemination. For example, one type of attribute is the classification of the sensitivity of the subject matter in a distribution. Values for the classification type of attribute typically include PRIVATE, NONPRIVATE, or CONFIDENTIAL. When a user receives a document classified as PRIVATE, the recipient is likely to read it at a time when no one else can see it. Other examples of types of attributes include the grade of delivery (NORMAL, URGENT, NONURGENT), carbon copy or blind copy recipients, cross references, obsolete references, importance, expiration dates and reply to date. Sometimes, multiple attribute types must be given to a distribution before it can properly be sent.
In the prior art, the assignment of attributes to distributions has been done manually by the user. The prior art method of attribute assignment has proven inadequate in multimedia data processing systems.
This is because in a multimedia system a user can cut, paste and merge a plurality of media into a single document for distribution. Often the characteristics of the content, such as audio, can determine the attribute that should be assigned to a distribution. For example, if a user is composing a document and in the process uses an annotated audio note, then the user's organization may require that the document be classified as PRIVATE. This policy would require the user to analyze the document and to determine if audio content is associated with the document. If the user discovers an audio medium was included in the content of the document, then the user must manually designate the document as PRIVATE.
The task of manually discovering if a particular medium is part of a distribution is further complicated by the use of folders and stapled documents in the distribution, wherein multiple documents can be joined together in the distribution. The problem is compounded further still when the user who is sending the document is not the user who created the document.
Thus, it is very easy for the person who manually assigns media-based attributes to a distribution to miss a specific type of media component and therefore not provide the proper attribute. As a result, errors in assigning attributes to the document occur. Occasionally, these errors can lead to embarrassing situations. For example, a distribution could contain an audio message that requires the distribution to be classified as PRIVATE, but instead is erroneously classified as NONPRIVATE. When the recipient accesses the distribution, thinking it to be unimportant, the private audio message could be publicly heard, much to the chagrin of the recipient. By the time the recipient discovers the error, it may be too late.